Stores staying open for procrastinating holiday shoppers

Thanksgiving was early this year, so shoppers had more time between Black Friday and Christmas, but as it turns out, many have procrastinated.

"I'm just starting. I'm not getting much this year, so I figured today's the day," said Ginger Bryan, a shopper.

This year has shown shoppers have taken a little bit longer to find their way to the stores. While Black Friday sales were strong, sales slowed thereafter.

Morris Segall, a senior economist with Sage Policy Group, said spending is picking up again closer to the holidays, and overall, people are buying.

"I think to the extent that there's been any consumer restraint, it has been because we haven't got a solution to the fiscal cliff, and that has been a restraining factor," Segall said.

Some retailers are offering deep discounts and are staying open longer.

"The later evening traffic has picked up quite a bit," said Gwen Ell Fredericks, of Blush at Towson Town Center.

Starting Friday morning, Macy's is staying open 48 hours straight, and Toys "R" Us is staying open for 88 hours.

"Clearly, they think and they've seen in the past that people are willing to shop for great bargains into the wee hours of the morning, especially if they procrastinated about Christmas shopping up until this point," Segall said.

Segall said spending is good in high-end stores, but not as good at lower-cost retailers.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said Sunday it was "very alarmed" by reports of widespread doping by track and field athletes in major competitions including the Olympic Games and world championships.

As top GOP presidential candidates arrived at a hotel here to court the influential donors of the Koch network, Charles Koch called on retreat attendees to unite with him in a campaign against "corporate welfare" and "irresponsible spending" by both ...